The flowering trees that bloom in summer are some of our most brilliant
and beautiful. Skeptical? Just take a look at the royal poinciana,
a large tree with showy clusters of flowers ranging in color from bright
orange to red. Known as the `Flamboyant' in most tropical countries, it
typically blooms in South Florida in June and July, but some years by the
middle of May. Tthe royal poinciana's flowers appear on bare branches after
a two-to three-month resting stage that is caused by the dry season. Individual
flowers can be 4 to 5 inches across and are produced in large clusters
that smother the crown of the tree. The big, umbrella-shaped crown is beautiful
if adequate space is available to accommodate it. This is a tree for big
lots, parks and boulevards. In confined situations, the beautiful, wide-spreading
top may be butchered to make the tree fit the space. That's a shame because
trimming minimizes the tree's greatest charms. Besides producing the most
brilliant floral show of all Florida trees, it stands up against hurricane
winds. But despite its beauty and strength, it has distinct disadvantages,
such as a shallow root system that can lift sidewalks, long periods of
bareness during the winter and a proclivity for dropping large seed pods
and branches throughout the year. Tiny leaves also can clog pool filters
and stain. The full brilliance of the plant can be enjoyed in conditions
replicating its native Madagascar. They produce their best flower show
on unirrigated sites. Trees under irrigation can bloom until September
or October but are never as showy and are more prone to root rot.

The peltophorum, also known as the yellow poinciana or copperpod,
can reach 70 feet or more if conditions are right. It likes a sunny, dry
location and quickly produces good shade and a reliable flower display.
The erect clusters of golden yellow blooms are produced from May to August.
These are followed by coppery-red pods that are also decorative. The deep-green
compound leaves are a perfect background for the flower display. The tree
is semi-evergreen, dropping leaves in the spring. It may drop all foliage
if we have a freeze. This tree is also good for large properties, parks
and schools where there is room for growth.

Hail to the Queen.

The queen crape myrtle is another spectacular summer bloomer
with its foot-long panicles of bloom that range from purple through mauve
to brilliant pink. It starts flowering in late May and continues until
August. The tree can grow 30 to 40 feet and can be bushy unless trimmed.
The large, simple leaves hold on until February and then turn red and drop
off. The tree may remain bare for a month or so before new leaves emerge.
A close relative is the regular crape myrtle, which is found in much of
the South. A single or multistemmed small tree, it is bare for several
months in winter. Large panicles in red, purple, pink, mauve or white occur
in the summer. The best plants in this group have Indian tribe names and
are resistant to powdery mildew, a major problem with this species..

Showers of cassias

Cassias add beauty to the summer landscape with their big clusters
of yellow or pink flowers. Cassia fistula, also known as
golden shower, is remarkable for the long wisteria-like, drooping bunches
of pale to golden yellow blooms, which can reach a foot or more in length.
The yellow blooms are fragrant in the morning and can be seen in May and
June. Golden shower can reach 30 feet high and sometimes shows chlorosis
in the foliage in alkaline conditions. A good ixora/gardenia fertilizer
applied in March, June and October will correct this problem. This cassia
is an upright grower and can be useful in a narrow space. The pink shower
is a wide-spreading tree with a drooping crown like a poinciana. Reaching
about 20-25 feet in height and 30 feet in spread, it's deciduous in winter
but produces new leaves and pink flowers from April until August. Like
the poinciana, the flower show is heavier and shorter in duration if the
tree is not under irrigation. All cassias need full sun and dry conditions
to do their best.

Jacaranda blues

Jacaranda is a large tree that normally blooms better near Orlando
than in south Florida. Its blue-purple blooms are spectacular; individual
trees vary considerably in time of bloom and flower color. Some trees bloom
in March but the big show comes April-June. Jacaranda normally is deciduous
for one to two months in the spring before new growth and flowers appear.
The trees under irrigation do not seem to lose their foliage completely,
but the flower display is scattered over a longer period. Jacaranda can
reach 50 to 60 feet tall in central Florida.

Q. Each year my royal poinciana is trimmed in October-November.
The tree is pruned high up on the trunks and looks bare until it blooms
in May and June. It is 35-40 feet high and 40 feet wide. What is the proper
way to do the trimming?

A. A properly located poinciana with adequate growing space looks like
a giant open umbrella with weeping branch ends. This growth pattern is
very attractive if there is space for it. Your tree sounds like it has
been "liontail" pruned — all the growth is removed except for the end of
the branches, leaving a tuft of foliage resembling a lion's tail. The tree
should be allowed to grow and develop properly if there is room. Poinciana
has soft wood that is subject to decay, so you need to hire a good tree
company to remove all the decayed or rotten wood, along with inward growing,
crossing, rubbing limbs, dead wood, stubs as well as branches.

Q. I am growing a seedling of dwarf poinciana. It's thorny, but
the poinciana I want is not thorny. Should I keep it?

A. Keep the poinciana. Dwarf seedlings are thorny, and adult trees may
have few thorns on vigorous growth.

Q. My bottlebrush has funny woody growths all over it. The board
of directors says the tree is fine and I want it replaced. What do you
think?

A. I think you are right. The tree has bacterial gall, which produces
woody growths throughout the tree and eventually kills it. Pruning shears
that are used from one bottlebrush to another spreads the gall. Shears
should be dipped in alcohol between each tree to keep them sterile. A similar
bacterial gall affects oleander. Ask for a replacement tree, but stay away
from bottlebrush and oleander. Few maintenance companies will dip shears
in alcohol between plants, so both these plants are probably doomed if
used in a condominium setting.

Q. Can you recommend a small
flowering tree that will give yellow flowers for our front yard?

A. Senna polyphylla has yellow blossoms. It likes full
sun and dry conditions. It normally blooms in the dry season from October
to May. (March Plant of the Month)

Q. Where can we locate a jacaranda tree? We saw beautiful ones
in St. Petersburg. We would like a 3-4 inch caliber trunk.

A. Your landscaper or retail nursery could install a 10-12 foot jacaranda
for you.. Jacarandas bigger than 12 feet are difficult to find. They grow
quickly although they are very open when initially planted. They quickly
fill out so do not be tempted to prune them to make a denser tree.

Q. When will my Hong Kong orchid tree bloom?

A. Hong Kong orchid should bloom from October through March if it receives
a good acid type fertilizer. Orchid trees often have chlorotic foliage
if they do not receive iron and manganese. Fertilize in March, June and
October. The products labeled for azaleas, gardenias and ixoras will work
fine.

Q. I have a six-month old seedling poinciana in a 5-gallon container.
The trunk is the size of a pencil, but it is 6 feet tall. Will the trunk
get heavier if I top the plant? How do you branch this tree?

A. Plant your tree in the ground as soon as possible. Do not cut it
back because it is naturally leggy when it is young and will branch out
when it is three to four years old. The tree cannot survive much longer
in the pot without dying back.

Q. What are your recommendations on good small flowering trees for
a 20-foot-20 foot swale?

Q. There is a tree
near the ocean that has yellow flowers in the morning that change to deep
red by nightfall. What is it?

A. This is the Portia tree (Thespesia populnea), a hibiscus
relative. Portia trees grow well along the oceanfront and are good for
dune stabilization. The seed capsules are somewhat prominent and make
the tree look untidy. Portia tree likes sun and reaches 20-25 feet in height.
A similar plant is the mahoe. It is big and rambling and can cover
an acre or more. It is shallow and blows over easily. The flowers last
only a day, then fall off. Mahoe is salt-tolerant and can tolerate beach
conditions.

Q. My frangipani has yellow leaves. I gave it plenty of fertilizer.
What should I do now?

A. Your frangipani was probably over- fertilized which caused leaf yellowing
and should recover after a period of months. You might run the hose around
the tree for an hour or so to flush the excess fertilizer past the roots.
Frangipani do not need much water or fertilizer. They do well with little
care. If you want to fertilize, use an azalea/gardenia acid fertilizer
to stimulate flowers. The frangipani loses its leaves during the winter
months.

Q. When should frangipani cuttings be planted?

A. Frangipani cuttings can be planted at anytime. Let cuttings harden
off for a few days before putting them into the ground. Choose a sunny
spot and allow enough room for the tree to grow to 20 feet tall and wide.
The bark is very soft so plant it in a landscape bed or put liriope around
the base so the weed trimmer will not girdle it.

Q. Will a dogwood seedling grow in South Florida?

A. Dogwood's southern limit in Florida is near Orlando.

Q. Can you give me some information about the geiger tree? I
want a tree for the center of the front yard.

A. The tree will grow to about 25 feet tall and has orange flowers most
of the year. The geiger tree has two problems. It is extremely sensitive
to cold and can be frozen to the ground in severe freezes. The geiger beetle
often chews holes in the leaves, which can make the tree unsightly. I would
plant the tree but not as a centerpiece in the front lawn as the disadvantages
are major. Use it more as a background plant where the flowers can be enjoyed
but the chewed leaves would not be too obvious. The white geiger would
be a better choice as it does not have bug problems and has white flowers
all year. It grows to about 20 feet.

Q. The orange geiger trees in
my front yard appear to be infested. Two years ago they had lush foliage
and a cluster of healthy blooms that produced viable seeds. Now most of
the new leaves turn brown and shrivel and the wood at the end of the branches
looks stressed. I understand there is a beetle that infests geigers, but
I cannot find any remedy. I do not want to blast the trees with chemicals.

A. Normally geigers are pretty tough trees, but they don't like damp
or wet conditions. The geiger beetle infests the tree; it chews the leaves
and can be controlled by Sevin. But leaves that dry and branches that die
back are more serious. Check for evidence of borers _ a hole with sap oozing
out. If you see them, clean off the area with a cloth, poke into the hole
with a wire and try to impale the borrer. Then, wearing gloves, apply Dursban
full strength with a paint brush. Apply 1 foot above and 1 foot below all
around the trunk.

Q. Can I eat the fruit of the sausage tree?

A. Sausage tree (Kigelia pinnata) is a curiosity often
found at botanical gardens, zoos and other tourist attractions. It has
3-inch claret red flowers and big green gourd-like fruit. The green seed
pods get much larger and become tan or brown when the pods are ripe. They
can reach 2 feet in length and are not edible. Sausage tree reaches about
30 feet in height and makes an interesting small shade tree. Sausage tree
likes sun to part shade and is not a fussy plant.

Q. I want to plant an angel trumpet tree. What can you tell me
about it?

A. I have two angel trumpet trees, a white and a peach colored form.
These are large-leafed plants that do well in sun or part shade. The peach
type is a much better bloomer than the white. It cycles in and out of bloom
faster and the flowers are more heavily produced. Angel trumpet trees have
large leaves and are not very drought tolerant, so give them water when
they start to wilt. Liquid fertilizer applied monthly between March and
October hastens growth and flowering. They are subject to nematodes so
grow them in an organic soil condition to repel these pests. Add 50% peat
moss mixed with your existing soil to the planting hole for good results.
Mulch will also repel nematodes. Keep mulch 2 inches away from the plant
stems so the bark can breathe.